AFRIFF 2019 Opens With Syrian War Documentary, "For Sama" on Sunday

"Sama, you are the most beautiful thing in our life, but what a life I have brought you into."
- Waad al-Kateab in 2016.

The 2019 African International Film Festival (AFRIFF) will open on Sunday, November 10 with the critically acclaimed gripping Syrian war documentary film, "FOR SAMA". The multiple award winning eyewitness accounts of a brave Syrian mother, Waad al-Kateab will echo the traumatic agonies of the unfortunate victims in similar terrifying conflicts raging in northern Nigeria and southern Sudan. Waad al-Kateab’s bravery symbolises the theme of this year, "SHEROES" celebrating the heroism of brave women in the existential challenges of life on earth.

KAICIID Allocates 1.5 Million Euros for Initiatives to Counter Hate Speech in 2020

KAICIID Allocates 1.5 Million Euros for Initiatives to Counter Hate Speech in 2020

The International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) 
31 oct, 2019, 16:59 WAT

VIENNA, Oct. 31, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Faisal bin Muammaar, Secretary General of the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) announced an allocation of nearly 1.5 million Euros for initiatives aimed at countering hate speech across the Centre's global programmes in 2020.

New Global Breakthrough for Nollywood Before Christmas

New Global Breakthrough for Nollywood Before Christmas

Nollywood is the first indie film industry in Africa started by guerrilla filmmakers in southern Nigeria in the 1990s with the groundbreaking blockbuster movie "Living in Bondage" in 1992. It was  followed by thousands of other movies shot on video and widely sold on the streets; pirated across the borders to the neighbouring countries in West Africa and finally shared on the internet through #YouTube and other online platforms. It was called "Nollywood"  by Norimitsu Onishi,  who was the Chief of The New York Times's southern Africa bureau, based in Johannesburg in 2002 before the Africa Magic series of Nollywood was launched by M-Net of the Multichoic group on #DStv on July 14, 2003 and making all the popular Nigerian stars household names in millions of homes in Africa.
See How Nollywood Redefined Conversations on African Cinema and Culture
https://shadowandact.com/2016/01/04/how-nollywood-redefined-conversations-on-african-cinema-and-culture/.

A Central Bank Will Issue a Consumer-ready Digital Currency Within Five Years, a New OMFIF and IBM Report Finds

A Central Bank Will Issue a Consumer-ready Digital Currency
Within Five Years, a New OMFIF and IBM Report Finds

NEWS PROVIDED BY
IBM

Oct 29, 2019, 08:39 ET

ARMONK, N.Y. and LONDON, Oct. 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Policy-makers at a number of central banks around the world are seriously considering developing and issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), with a consumer-ready CBDC likely to arrive in the next five years. That is the key finding from a report from IBM (NYSE: IBM) and OMFIF, a central banking think tank.

Breast Cancer and the Connection with Oral Hygiene

WE ALL HAVE MOUTHS! RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BREAST CANCER AND ORAL HYGIENE 

Comedy is now a multi-billion naira industry in Nigeria. A new couple could pay a comedian one million naira to perform at their wedding, but argue furiously against paying a surgeon one hundred thousand naira to perform a caesarian section to save two lives. Comedy is also the cheapest possible start-up, because the mouth is the sole physical investment of the trade. Thus a popular comedian rejoices in the name of Basket mouth. Another is called Elenu, meaning ‘mouth owner’ in the Yoruba / Anago language. But although we are not all comedians, we are all elenus – we all have mouths and our mouths are far more important for our overall health than we may realize.

October is dedicated to advocacy and creating awareness on Breast Cancer, the most common cancer in women globally (including Nigeria). Breast cancer also occurs in men, but it is 100 times more common in women. However, because most people are not aware that breast cancer can occur in men, the disease tends to be picked up much later and is often more fatal in men than in women.

We Need A Global Network Against Movie Piracy

We Need A Global Network Against Movie Piracy

Movie pirates released Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman" two months ago before the official release in September. 

I am afraid that they may have access to James Cameron's yet to be released "Avatar 2", the much awaited sequel to his blockbuster movie, "Avatar" and other big movies waiting to be released. And these movie pirates are not invisible.

Global movie piracy cost billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs.

See the following alarming reports.

The Intellectual Ignorance of The Chairman of The Nigerian Oscar Selection Committee

The Intellectual Ignorance of The Chairman of The Nigerian Oscar Selection Committee (NOSC)

The selection of Genevieve Nnaji's directorial debut, "Lionheart" as Nigeria's entry for the 2020 Academy Awards has confirmed my dismissal of the so called Nigerian Oscar Selection Committee (NOSC).

Anyone who says Nigeria "couldn't make any submissions in previous years due to unavailability of qualifying films" is intellectually challenged and ignorant of the history of Nigerian films and cinema since 1970 to date; ignorant of the films of Francis Oladele, Adamu Halilu, Dr. Ola Balogun , Tunde Kelani, Newton Aduaka, Biyi Bandele, Izu Ojukwu, Jeta Amata and others who made critically acclaimed films before and after the emergence of the home videos of Nollywood.  

So, no Nigerian filmmaker has made an Oscar worthy film until Genevieve Nnaji made her "Lionheart" in 2018?

60 Years of TV in Nigeria and Tropical Africa: 1959-2019

60 YEARS OF TV IN NIGERIA AND TROPICAL AFRICA
October 1959- October 2019

This month of October will be 60 years of TV in Nigeria and Tropical Africa pioneered by the Western region of Nigeria led by the most visionary African political leader in the 20th century, the great sage, Chief Ọbáfẹ́mi Awólọ́wọ̀, GCFR (6 March 1909 – 9 May 1987), Nigerian nationalist; one of the founding fathers of modern Nigeria and first Premier of the Western Region.

Infosys Finacle and R3 Conclude Global Trial of Blockchain Based Trade Finance

Infosys Finacle and R3 Conclude Global Trial of Blockchain Based Trade Finance

Sep 23, 2019, 11:56 WAT
Financial institutions across 19 countries participated in the trial network

BENGALURU, India, Sept. 23, 2019  /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Infosys (NYSE: INFY), today announced the successful completion of a global blockchain trial in partnership with R3, one of the fastest growing enterprise blockchain software companies in the world. The trial was completed in under 5 weeks.

OPPO Appoints Ethan Xue as New President in the Middle East and Africa

Ethan Xue, OPPO MEA President.

OPPO Appoints Ethan Xue as New President in the Middle East and Africa
Andy Shi is promoted to Senior Director of Global Product Marketing at OPPO Headquarters

DUBAI, UAE, Sept. 18, 2019  /PRNewswire/ -- OPPO, the leading global smartphone brand, has announced the appointment of Ethan Xue as its new President in the Middle East and Africa (MEA). The announcement comes as Andy Shi, Outgoing President of OPPO MEA, assumes his new role as Senior Director of Global Product Marketing at OPPO Headquarters in China  where he will oversee OPPO's all product lines including smartphone and IoT on a global level.